Koharu Rikka (小春六花) is a Japanese vocal developed and distributed by TOKYO6 ENTERTAINMENT in collaboration with AH-Software Co. Ltd., and was released as Standard and AI voice databases for Synthesizer V Studio in March 2021.[1] She was formerly announced as a VOICEROID product[2], but was instead developed and released for CeVIO AI for speech at the same time as her Synthesizer V Studio voice databases.[3][4]
Her voice provider is Yoshino Aoyama, a Japanese voice actress.
Concept[]
Koharu Rikka is described to be a second-year student at Otaru Shiokaze High School. She's 160 cm tall and she has a teddy bear companion named Lakiston. The rest of her character is deliberately left open to interpretation.[5]
Her birthday is May 16, the same day she was announced. Rikka is themed around the spring season.[6]
Etymology[]
Koharu (小春) is derived from the word "koharubiyori" (小春日和), which literally translates to "little spring weather," but is more commonly referred to as an "Indian summer." Akasakov, the CEO of TOKYO6, mentioned in the AHS' 156th livestream that he chose this name for her because he wanted fans to be reminded of a soothing and relaxing spring day.
Rikka (六花) can be translated literally as "six flowers," but it also references snow. As the snow pseudonym is widely used in poetry written during the Song Dynasty, it's hoped that her name would help her appeal more to fans in China.[7] [8]
Her name is rendered in kana as "コハル リッカ".[9]
Appearance[]
Rikka is a high school student with short silver hair. While her hair is pulled up into two small buns on either side of her head, the rest of her hair is not pulled up. She also has a small flower clip on the left side of her bangs. Her eye color is a soft blend of purple and red.
Rikka wears a standard school uniform - a grey top with a pink bow and a dark blue/white accented long sleeved jacket over it. She also wears a short, dark blue, pleated skirt, white knee-high socks, and pink/white shoes with a lavender bow on top of each.
Lakiston (ラキストン Rakisuton), her companion, is a brown stuffed bear with small black horns and black claws. It wears a green/white/blue bow and has small angel wings on its back. It's named after Thomas Blakiston, an English explorer and naturalist who established a zoogeographical boundary between Hokkaido and Honshu called Blakiston line.[10][11]
Relations[]
- Lakiston - A stuff bear companion
- Hanakuma Chifuyu - fellow student & music club member at Otaru Shiokaze High School.
- Natsuki Karin - fellow student & music club member at Otaru Shiokaze High School.
Voice Libraries[]
- Koharu Rikka (VOICEROID2), Cancelled
- Koharu Rikka Talk Voice (CeVIO AI), March 18, 2021
- Koharu Rikka Standard (Synthesizer V Studio), March 18, 2021
- Koharu Rikka AI (Synthesizer V Studio), March 18, 2021
- Koharu Rikka Standard Lite (Synthesizer V Studio), March 18, 2021
- Koharu Rikka AI Lite (Synthesizer V Studio), March 18, 2021
- Koharu Rikka (VOICEPEAK), July 13, 2023
- Koharu Rikka (VoiSona Talk), June 20, 2024
Additional Information[]
Marketing[]
Koharu Rikka was planned to have live music performances, collaborations with other companies, and more. Her birthday is acknowledged as May 16 and TOKYO6 ENTERTAINMENT may release annual official content, including illustrations. Fans were also encouraged to create content for her.[12]
Following a stream in February 2021, AH-Software announced a special campaign on Twitter allowing users to apply via DM to receive a physical copy of Synthesizer V Studio Pro and Synthesizer V Koharu Rikka AI Complete.[13] The giveaway occurred on March 8 and ten prize winners were selected.[14][15][16]
As of March 29, works featuring Rikka were accepted on Piapro, a well-known Japanese center of the VOCALOID, and extensively, voice synthesizer community.[17]
On December 23, Rikka was used in the official demo showcasing the Cross-lingual Singing Synthesis feature, which was introduced in Synthesizer V Studio version 1.5.0. This marked her first appearance in an official engine demonstration hosted by Dreamtonics.[18]
First Day of School!
Rikka's first performance, "Koharu Rikka 1st LIVE! First Day of School!" would be held on April 22, 2022 at Harevutai in Ikebukuro.[19]
On June 24, 2022, Dreamtonics Co., Ltd. announced its first creation contest in collaboration with AH-Software, Animen, AUDIOLOGIE Co., Ltd., and Eclipsed Sounds, LLC with three competition areas: originals, covers, and cross-lingual synthesis. Creators were encouraged to submit their work regardless of language restrictions. Prizes included cash distribution from bilibili, digital copies of certain Synthesizer V voice databases, and the physical boxed copy of ANRI. Rikka was listed as one of the eligible vocals for this contest.[20]
New Rikka standing art by MtU, Karei, Niijima Akiichi, and Yume no Owari were expected to release in 2023.[21]
Rikka was among one of the Synthesizer V vocals that could be trialed at certain Japanese music retail stores where customers can use the software that was set up with the stores' PCs.[22]
Reputation[]
Rikka's CeVIO AI and Synthesizer V productions were made possible through a successful crowdfunding campaign that was launched from May to June 2020, although the original intention was to create a VOICEROID2 speech voice rather than the finalized CeVIO AI Talk voice. She reached the final stretch goal by June 6, about a week and a half after the campaign started, and managed to accumulate a total of 32,001,200 yen by the end with 1,399 backers, reaching 457%.[23]
After release, Rikka was considered to be a very notable addition to Synthesizer V Studio. She was a highly anticipated character, especially after the release of her demos.- First TOKYO6 ENTERTAINMENT Synthesizer V vocal to be released.
- First female TOKYO6 ENTERTAINMENT Synthesizer V vocal to be released.
- First Japanese TOKYO6 ENTERTAINMENT Synthesizer V vocal to be released.
- First TOKYO6 ENTERTAINMENT Synthesizer V Standard vocal to be released.
- First TOKYO6 ENTERTAINMENT Synthesizer V AI vocal to be released.
- First AH-Software Synthesizer V AI vocal to be released.
- First CeVIO character to release as a Synthesizer V vocal.
References[]
- ↑ https://note.com/tokyo6/n/n3c60d7d49057
- ↑ https://greenfunding.jp/pub/projects/3660/
- ↑ https://twitter.com/ahsoft/status/1322055701938622464
- ↑ https://www.ah-soft.com/press/synth-v/20201030.html
- ↑ https://tokyo6.tokyo/koharurikka/
- ↑ https://twitter.com/s_akasakov/status/1527328339945746433
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHbCRbpMioE
- ↑ https://vocasphere.net/2020/05/ahs-official-livestream-156-koharu-rikka-special/
- ↑ https://dreamtonics.com/synthesizerv
- ↑ https://twitter.com/rikka_info/status/1489843276328804355
- ↑ https://twitter.com/rikka_info/status/1652219104747724800
- ↑ https://twitter.com/tokyo6info/status/1261524664867680258
- ↑ https://twitter.com/ahsoft/status/1362387362785845249
- ↑ https://twitter.com/ahsoft/status/1369126564370124808
- ↑ https://twitter.com/ahsoft/status/1369132986377990146
- ↑ https://twitter.com/ahsoft/status/1369198290583973895
- ↑ https://ch.piapro.jp/creator/2021/03/f2103191-1
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=De4cnZkl5pQ
- ↑ https://twitter.com/tokyo6info/status/1444648932093669382
- ↑ https://www.bilibili.com/read/cv17237015
- ↑ https://twitter.com/tokyo6info/status/1575391534354075649
- ↑ https://twitter.com/shima_umeda/status/1598220720546676737
- ↑ https://greenfunding.jp/pub/projects/3660
External links[]
- Koharu Rikka's Official Twitter
- TOKYO6 Entertainment Official Twitter
- TOKYO6 Entertainment Official Website
- AHS CEO Tweet confirming Koharu Rikka's Synthesizer V Development
- Announcement page
- Crowdfunding page